Obituary of Anne Edwards

June 6, 1935 - Tisdale, Saskatchewan

October 15, 2022 - Calgary, Alberta

 

 

Anne Edwards shuffled off this mortal coil on Saturday, October 15, 2022, in Calgary, AB. A long-term resident of the East Kootenays, she leaves behind four children, twelve grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, as well as a large extended family.

 

She was predeceased by her husband, Mike Edwards; her sister, Mary-Leone DeVillenfagne; and her parents, Ike and Leone Stothers.

 

A graduate of the University of Saskatchewan (BA, ‘55; MA, ‘58), she began a career in journalism working in Saskatoon (CFQC) and Calgary (Albertan). Marriage and children intervened, until the untimely death of her husband in 1969. She soon became the News Director at Today Publications and continued, throughout her lifetime, to contribute freelance material for a number of papers and magazines.

 

As if work and raising four kids was not enough, she was also active in community organizations, including, but not limited to, school board, regional board of variance, Unemployment Insurance Commission, Cranbrook Archives, Museum & Landmark Foundation, Columbia Basin Trust, BC Heritage Trust, etc.

 

After seven years with the local paper, she became an educator at the East Kootenay Community College, teaching English Literature & Composition as well as Business & Technical writing. She spent eleven years in academia and then entered politics as the MLA for Kootenay, including time as the Minister of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources.

 

Following politics, Anne devoted more time to writing and tending to her home at Moyie. She authored and/or contributed to a variety of projects including, Exploring the Purcell Wilderness (with Pat Morrow & Art Twomey) in 1978; provided the text for Cranbrook: 100 Years of Heart & Soul, published in 2004; in 2007, she contributed material for The Purcell Suite: Upholding the Wild; and finally Seeking Balance: Conversations with BC Women in Politics, in 2008.

 

Funeral Services will be held in Cranbrook in August 2023, a notice will follow with more detail.  Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed here.

 

If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Agapé Hospice, 1302 - 8 Avenue N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1B8 Telephone: (403) 282-6588 or http://agapehospice.ca/funding-donations/.